The Choice
by mdseiran
Summary: Kazuha's worst nightmare just happened, and she's out for revenge. Feedback please?


The Choice 

Written by: Hibbah

Notes: Don't know what sparked this idea, but I just had to put it down on paper. I'd like to thank those who have taken the time to review this fic (they are so many I can't mention them all J). As always, feedback is very much needed.

The Choice 

The room was dark, even though it was still late afternoon. The shades were drawn so as not to allow a single ray of sunlight in to illuminate the room. Someone was lying on the bed, head sinking in the pillow, and eyes closed as if wanting to shut the world out forever. A sigh was heard, a sheet was rustled. Turning towards the door, the girl lying on the bed wiped away her tears. Her pillow was wet. She had been in her room for hours, crying her heart out, wishing she hadn't lived to see this day. She had never thought this could happen; that her heart could break into a thousand pieces. The pain was intense, so intense that she couldn't face it. All that was dear to her in life had been taken away from her. People she had cared about had betrayed her, backstabbed her; ignored her! And at the time when she was least expecting it.

"Kazuha-chan, dinner is ready!"

Kazuha sighed. Her mom had no way of knowing how she felt at the moment. And right now she was too worn out to argue.

"Coming, Okaa-san!"

She brushed away her last tears, took a quick trip to the bathroom, to try and remove the proof of her crying, before directing her steps towards the kitchen. It wouldn't do her any good to think about that right now. And besides, she wouldn't be able to fix anything anyway. _Blast you Heiji. But I'll make you pay. You just wait and see._

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Later that day, long after her mother and father had succumbed to sleep, Kazuha was still awake, lying on the same spot, her eyes closed tightly, trying to stem the painful memories, trying to forget them and block them out. She was failing miserably. She couldn't forget. She just couldn't. The memories were imprinted in her head and heart; embodied with their graveness like the insomnia she was suffering from right now. 

Figures started to dance in front of her eyes; figures that brought all those painful memories back in a powerful thrust she was unable to stop. So she let it come. At least the pain would prove to her that she was still alive… and sane.

She still remembered all the details. From when she had been shopping happily, not caring about anything or anybody, just happy to be alive, to the time that she had lain on her bed, hoping she would die.

She had gone out to shop, as her mother had asked her to. She was used to it, in fact, she enjoyed it. Walking happily in the crowded streets of Osaka, thinking of some new tricks she could try on Heiji. She giggled as she walked; trying to imagine what he would look like after she was finished with him. She had been carelessly happy, unaware of the disasters awaiting her.

After an hour of shopping, Kazuha went to a small café where she could get some cool drink. It was repulsively hot so she thought that she deserved some refreshment. Distributing her shopping bags equally between her two hands, she darted towards the café. It was a pleasant surprise for her when she saw Heiji sitting there. She started towards him, but was stopped short. Her throat clenched. Her _heart _clenched. What she was seeing in front of her at that very moment was something she had never thought would happen, not even in her wildest dreams could she have imagined it. Heiji wasn't alone. He was with a girl. She couldn't see her face, but she looked… stunning. And he was holding her hand. The expression in his eyes was one that she had often hoped he would grant her. An expression filled with love and sympathy. 

Kazuha's heart was slowly breaking into little pieces. She wasn't able to stop it, but she really needed to look at the person who had ruined all those years she and Heiji had known each other in. She inched closer, trying not to make any noise. She doubted they would notice her anyway. They were too busy looking at each other. 

When she was close enough to see everything clearly, she slowly turned her eyes to the girl sitting in front of Heiji. If she thought her heart had been broken already, she had been terribly wrong because what she had felt then was nothing compared to what she felt now. She couldn't think, couldn't breath.

The girl sitting in front of Heiji, the one he was looking at in rapt adoration, was none other than her very best friend, Mouri Ran…

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Kazuha sighed, and turned to lie on her left side, facing the window. The shades were open; she could see the moon above the treetops, shining its subtle blue rays; guiding people to the right way. She wished the moon could guide _her_…

What had happened after she had found out was more than a little embarrassing. She had made a fool of herself in front of all the people who were there at that time. She hadn't been able to stop herself because… She was feeling too hurt, too betrayed to stop herself…

As soon as Kazuha saw who that girl was, she started to feel a little green. It was more than she could bear. First the shock of seeing Heiji with a girl, then finding out that the girl was in fact Ran. Kazuha felt as if she might as well faint. She closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths, in and out, in and out, until she wasn't feeling queasy anymore. She took another peek at them, and she started seeing red. _How dare they betray me like that? I'm not just standing here, watching them! I'll show them both!_

She walked towards them, the shopping bags still grabbed firmly in her hands, her knuckles holding them tight as if they were a lifeline. When she reached the table, she proceeded to drop the shopping bags on the ground, right next to their table. Heiji looked up, and when he saw her, he quickly let go of Ran's hand. He coughed. "Kazuha, I wasn't expecting you. What are you doing here?"

Kazuha ignored him and turned to Ran. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Osaka, Ran-chan! Of course, I suppose you couldn't. You wouldn't want me to know what you were doing behind my back, would you?"

Her eyes became dangerously fierce as she looked at Ran. "Yes, seeing Heiji behind my back, going out with him. Maybe you even seduced him, who knows? I wouldn't put it past you!"

Heiji looked from Ran to Kazuha, obviously uncomfortable. "Kazuha, can we talk about this somewhere else?"

Kazuha turned to him and he shrunk back from her "To hell with you, Heiji! No, we can't go somewhere else. We're fixing this right here!" As if to emphasize her point, Kazuha grabbed a chair, drew it over to the table, and sat down. 

Heiji sighed. "Kazuha, I'm sorry, we should have told you."

"You should have TOLD me?" Kazuha was shrieking now, so mad at him that she didn't care who heard her anymore. "You were going out with my best friend who knows that I like you! She was cheating on me! You both betrayed me, and you're telling me you should have told me sooner?! That is all you have to say?!"

Heiji was starting to look annoyed. He grabbed Kazuha's arm. "Kazuha, let's go. We'll talk at home."

She pulled away from him. "Ran-chan, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Ran looked her straight in the eye. "I don't have to justify my actions to you. What Heiji and I share is none of your business."

"Aho! Like hell it isn't! Who do you think I am? I thought you were in love with Kudo-kun! You were waiting for him! What happened to you? Why are you doing this to me?" Her voice faltered, and to her horror, tears started to stream down her face. She brushed them away angrily, and focused on Ran. If she didn't focus on her anger, she was going to break down in front of everybody.

Ran sighed. "Kazuha-chan, you have a right to be angry. But first of all, you should let me explain. I was waiting for Shinichi. I have been waiting for him for such a long time, I lost track of the days. I was always lonely, always crying. I missed him a lot. I used to see both of you once in a while, and we became good friends. What I didn't realize was that my feelings for Heiji were slowly turning to feelings much more intense than those of a simple friendship. Apparently, he was feeling it too." She smiled.

"One day, I just realized I couldn't keep living like this forever. I wrote a letter to Shinichi and gave it to Agasa-hakase. In the letter I told him I couldn't wait for him any longer. That day Shinichi called me and demanded to know what was going on. I told him the truth. We talked a lot, and he said he wouldn't stand in my way. He also said he was sorry for not being there for me. After that, things just happened really fast. Heiji called me and said he needed to see me. He confessed how he felt about me, and I did the same. We wanted to keep you in the dark, because we didn't want to hurt you. But I guess it is for the best that you know now."

Kazuha looked at her one-time friends. It was obvious that they thought this explanation should shut her up for a while. Well, they would find out how wrong they were. She stood up. Her voice was loud when she started to talk, and it only became louder. "You think you can get rid of me so easily, huh? You are both wrong! I will not be shoved aside like some naïve girl!"

Before she knew what was happening, Heiji had her arm in a firm grip. He was steering her away from the café. "I'll be right back Ran."

He took her to a more private place. His grip was too strong for her to resist, especially in the state she was in. His voice had raised a few octaves above normal. "You idiot! What do you think you're doing? You don't own me, Kazuha. I have my own life just like you. I need to live mine, to be happy. And right now I'm happier than I have ever been. Please, just let it go. For both our sakes, let it go!" he stressed slowly and firmly.

She could see he was off guard. She jerked her arm from his grip. "I won't let it go. I can't believe you can even ask me that after what you did to me. How DARE you ask me to let it go??"

Heiji grabbed her arm again and started shaking her, trying to get some sense into her. "Kazuha, this isn't doing anybody any good. Just let it go, and get on with your life. I'm sure you'll find someone who will love you the way you want me to because I can't. I'm sure there is someone out there, just waiting for you to come and lighten up his life." He let her go, and took a step backwards. "I'm sorry, Kazuha." He turned around and ran back to the café where Ran was still waiting for him.

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Kazuha shut her eyes tightly, wanting to block out the feelings that were washing over her like water. Back then, all she had been able to feel was anger and hatred. Hatred is not more powerful than love but it is more effective; it gets in your heart faster. There was so much of it that there wasn't a place for anything else. But now that she was alone, and her anger had subsided, she could feel the pain she wanted to put away, and the jealousy. All the love she has built over the years has been destroyed in an instant by the quake of jealousy. God, was she ever going to get over this? _I will get over this. I have to. Don't think that you got rid of me, Heiji. I won't leave you alone. You made me cry, you made me jealous, and you tried to push me out of your life. I won't stand for it though. I'll show you both. I won't rest till I have my revenge. You just wait and see._

With that thought planted firmly in her head, Kazuha closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. It was working, she realized. Her last thought before falling into a restless sleep was that tomorrow would be the start of her revenge. Tomorrow, Heiji and Ran would feel sorry for all they had done to her…

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A small sigh escaped Kazuha's lips. She felt frustrated. She still wanted revenge but didn't quite know how to go about it. As much as she might have liked to kill Heiji, that was not an option. He would become a national hero, then, remembered by his bright achievements and disloyally killed by his outrageous ex-girlfriend. She needed something better, something that he would remember for the rest of his life. Suddenly, she smirked. One of the best things she could do was to embarrass him, in front of every one if possible. The idea certainly appealed to her. And it would be fun to see Heiji unable to do anything for the first time in his life. She chuckled in anticipation. Yes, that was what she was going to do. And she knew the perfect way to do it…

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Kazuha had been stalking Heiji for three days, and finally her chance had come. _I never figured he was so dim, couldn't even figure out someone was following him!_ For three long days he had done nothing but sleep, eat, and work on a few cases. What she had been waiting for was his outing with Ran. And it seemed today was her lucky day. 

She had been waiting for him in the front of his house, waiting for him to come out. That didn't happen though. Instead, Ran came to his house. That was very fortunate for her. At least now she knew she wasn't following him for nothing!

Heiji came outside to meet Ran. He greeted her with a kiss, something Kazuha hadn't expected. She quickly ignored the pang of jealousy she felt, and closed her eyes. _I don't have to see this, I don't care about them. You two just wait; I have some great surprises for you…_

They finally broke apart, and noiselessly Kazuha followed them to their destination.

After a long walk, they finally reached a nice restaurant. It seemed Heiji was planning a nice romantic dinner. He would be surprised, Kazuha thought. She waited until they were seated, then headed over to one of the payphones in one of the corners of the restaurant. She quietly dialed a number, said something into the mouthpiece, then with a wicked grin dropped the phone and walked towards a small table, waiting to see what would happen.

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"Hattori-san, please come to the reception desk. You have a phone call. Hattori-san, please come to the reception desk, you have a phone call." Heiji looked at Ran in a puzzled way. "Why would someone be calling me? I'm sorry. I'll try to hurry, okay?"

Ran smiled. "I won't be going anywhere."

Heiji couldn't hold back a grin. He quickly walked towards the reception desk, identified himself and took the call.

"Hello? This is Hattori."

Nothing but silence…

"Hello? Who is this?"

At a table nearby, Kazuha was smirking and trying to hide it. _This is only the beginning. If I know Heiji, he's going to call his father and try to find out where the call came from. He'll be afraid to miss a case._ Kazuha jumped up, and started to get ready for the second part of her plan, all the while grinning. She was thrilled to be taking revenge on Heiji like this.

She directed her steps to the phone, and dialed another number…

Ran jerked up from her dreams when her cell phone started ringing. 

"Hello?"

"Ran-chan? I know we didn't really part on good terms last time, but I really needed to talk to you."

"What is it, Kazuha-chan?"

"I want to talk about what happened. Maybe then I can put all this behind me."

"Umm, right now really isn't a good time, Kazuha-chan. Can we meet in an hour or so?"

"Ran-chan, I really need to see you now before I do something drastic. I'm at home, please hurry."

The line was disconnected. "Kazuha-chan?"

Ran sighed. There was no way out of it. Kazuha hadn't sounded very well when she called. More like she was ready to kill herself. She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from her purse and quickly scribbled a note to Heiji, telling him where she'd gone. She then quickly stood up, and left the restaurant.

As soon as Ran had left, Kazuha moved towards the table where she had been sitting. She picked up the note Ran had left, and tore it to pieces. Heiji would get worried at this. Kazuha felt a pang of conscience at what she was doing, but she shoved the thoughts away. She was being as ruthless as they had been to her. With that planted firmly in her head, she took another note out of her purse. This was one she had written. Well, not exactly written, but more like made from newspaper scraps. It would worry him for sure, especially since it would look as if Ran had been kidnapped. She hadn't forgotten to wear gloves when making the note, nor when holding it. She had been around detectives long enough to know that fingerprints were the first thing they looked for. She put the note on Heiji's plate and quickly left the restaurant. She had to get ready for the next step…

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When Heiji returned to the table, the first thing he saw was Ran's empty chair in front of him. It didn't worry him at the time. She had probably gone to the toilet. But then he saw the note lying in front of him, and he started to have a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He picked up the note, unfolded it and started reading. The note said:

We have got the person dearest to you. Follow these instructions carefully or you will never see her again. Disguise yourself as a lady (wear a brown wig) and walk to the nearest square. Stand in front of the Kodak shop there and take off your wig. When I see you, you will get further details as to her whereabouts.

The feeling at the pit of his stomach intensified. He felt as if he were in a dream. He had never imagined that he could feel this way, or that this would happen. His brain quickly registered what he had just read. As soon as it did, he jumped up and raced out of the restaurant, hurrying towards the nearest clothes shop.

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Ran arrived at Kazuha's house to find a note on the door. On it were directions to a certain square. Ran shrugged her shoulders, took the note, and started following the directions. Kazuha was watching her from behind a tree, silently laughing. This was going to be lots of fun. Ran would be standing inside the Kodak shop. Kazuha couldn't wait.

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Half an hour later, dressed in a kimono and a brown wig, Heiji was walking through the square the kidnapper had chosen. He felt awkward in women's clothes, and very embarrassed. It was true that nobody knew he wasn't a woman, but that would change after he took off his wig. He squirmed as he thought about it. But he knew he had to do this, for Ran's sake.

He had almost reached Kodak. He started to slow his pace, getting ready for any attack if there might be one. But there wasn't. He reached Kodak without any trouble. When he reached it, he slowly pulled off his wig, hoping no one would notice. He felt bad enough already.

He was waiting for someone to call him, to tell him what to do next. He certainly wasn't expecting this.

"HATTORI HEIJI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, DRESSED LIKE THAT!!!"

He quickly turned around to find Ran gaping at him from Kodak. Unfortunately, her shout had attracted a group of people. Heiji's face slowly turned crimson. He quickly grabbed Ran's arm and started towards the nearest restaurant, meanwhile adjusting his wig so as not to attract any more attention. This was humiliating enough, especially since Ran had shouted his name all over the street. Hopefully there weren't any reporters around, or he would be the laugh of the city tomorrow. Luckily he had had the presence of mind to pack his clothes in a bag and to take it with him. After he had changed, he stared at Ran with a glare. Ran glared back at him. 

"You don't have to look at me like that. After all, I did nothing wrong."

"Where were you? You are the reason I was doing this you know. I got a note telling me that someone had captured you and these were the instructions."

Ran looked at him in disbelief. "Since when do kidnappers ask people to dress up like women?"

Her disbelief made Heiji even more furious. "I'll show you the note. I left it at the restaurant. Let's go!"

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Of course, when they got to the restaurant, the note was gone. Heiji looked all around their table in frustration. "Kuso! I know it was here! Where did it go?"

Ran was looking at him in an amused way. She obviously didn't believe a word he was saying. "Heiji… never mind, let's just go home, okay? I'm pretty tired."

Heiji knew she didn't believe him, so he decided to just play along with her and to pretend it had never happened. "Fine," he murmured, "let's go." 

They walked out of the restaurant hand in hand, towards Heiji's motorbike. He helped Ran to climb on it, then took a seat himself. After making sure Ran had put on her helmet, he put on his, and raced away. His mind was working rapidly, trying to find out who would want to play such a joke on him.

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Kazuha was back at home, lying on her bed, satisfied with how her revenge had worked out. She had taken a whole roll of film when Heiji was standing at Kodak, the wig over his head, and Ran gaping at him. She had already had them developed too. She was looking at them now, dissolving into shrieks of laughter whenever she remembered how red Heiji's face had become. It was really unimaginable; that his face had been redder than a beet. Even the pictures didn't hide it.

She was now ready for the final strike. She hadn't been taking these pictures for nothing! By tomorrow, there wouldn't be a person in Osaka (who read the newspaper that is) who wouldn't know how Heiji had looked, dressed as a woman. She could already see the headlines: "Hattori Heiji, famous detective, as a woman?!" She was grinning with delight at the thought, and her hand moved towards the phone, ready to dial the news agency. But then her hand stilled. _What on earth am I doing? This isn't me at all! I don't get even with people. I don't usually hate either. Did being jealous really do all this to me?!_

Her eyes fell on one of the drawers in her bedside table. Holding her breath, she opened the drawer. She knew what was in it, the omamori. The one she had given Heiji as a sort of protection for when she wasn't around.

Her hand started trembling, and she quickly jerked back her hand and hid her face in her pillow. She had been out of her mind with jealousy, and hadn't been thinking straight. It was an excuse, she knew, but a lame one. She shouldn't be forgiven for what she had done. She hadn't just ruined a date, but she had also lost her self-respect. She deserved all the pain, because she truly is a despicable person.

The sobs started slowly then built up as Kazuha rid herself from all emotions, except those of contempt. However, her sobs didn't last long.

Unnoticed by the crying Kazuha, someone had opened her window, and had come into her room. The person slowly moved towards the bed, then touched Kazuha's shoulder. Kazuha stopped crying. She slowly moved her head upwards to look at the intruder. Not surprisingly, the face of Heiji looked at her. She quickly pushed his hand away and moved to sit normally on the bed. 

"Why are you here, Hattori-san?"

She tried to make her voice sound cold and uncaring, but it came out in little more than a whimper.

Heiji glared at her. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Kazuha's heart skipped a beat. "I-I don't know what you are talking about."

Heiji smirked. "Sure you do, Kazuha. It was you who made that note and put it on my plate. You wanted to humiliate me. Well, I've got to hand it to you. You did it too, and I only figured it out a few minutes ago."

Heiji then noticed the pictures of him in kimono lying scattered on the bed. At first he just stared, but then he his face slowly turned purple for the second time that day. It was obvious he was trying to control his anger, but he wasn't really getting there. "Aho! Why did you do that, huh? Just because you are jealous?! Well, I don't give a damn about your jealousy! It's all your fault that our date was ruined! All your fault!"

Kazuha put her hands over her ears and shut her eyes as tight as she could, trying to keep the sound out. It didn't work. She could still hear it, and see it too. Heiji and Ran; both accusing her, the police coming after her on account of a kidnapping and blackmailing attempt, her classmates jeering at her, as well as the rest, all chanting the same words. _It's all your fault, all your fault Kazuha, all your fault, all you-_

"Kazuha, wake up! We're going to be late for school, and then it'll be all your fault!"

Kazuha slowly opened her eyes and took a look at the alarm clock next to her. It was 8:20. _Oh, shit!_ Then she looked around her. Where were Heiji, Ran and the others? And who was that shouting?

"KAZUHA!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!"

"Heiji?"

"It was about time! Hurry up, will you? We're late already!"

Then it struck her, and she began laughing. Heiji turned quiet at the other side of the door, amazed at the squeals of laughter coming out of the room. "Uh, Kazuha, are you okay?"

Kazuha wiped tears from her eyes. It had all been a dream! Heiji wasn't in love with Ran and Ran was still waiting for Kudo. And Heiji was banging on her door.

"I'm coming! Give me five minutes!"

She jumped out of bed and began to get dressed as quickly as she could, still grinning when she remembered her silly dream. Maybe she would share it with Heiji, see what he would say.

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Later, at school

"Ne, Heiji, I forgot to tell you. I had a really weird dream last night. I was dreaming that Ran-chan and you were in love with each other."

Kazuha waited to see how he would take it. His face became a suspicious red. Kazuha started grinning. "Kazuha, I don't know where you get these weird ideas from. Kudo would kill me if he ever heard that."

"Well, that's not all. My dream gave me an idea, and I was wondering that maybe we could try it out?"

Heiji looked at her suspiciously. "And what idea is that?"

Kazuha grinned at him. "In my dream, I made you dress up as a lady and reveal who you really are in the middle of a crowded square. I was thinking, maybe we could do it for real?"

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